A review by huldasif
A Clean Kill in Tokyo by Barry Eisler

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I'm so glad to be back to reading Barry Eisler's books. I started with Livia Lone and fell in love with his books, but now I'm going back to the beginning, to where it all started, with John Rain. I was not disappointed at all! This is what a thriller and espionage book is supposed to be like in my opinion, always something going on, somethong keeping me on my toes the entire time. I loved all of it. Even though it's plot driven, there is still character development, and even though it feels like it's fast-paced (because it's so action packed and time just flies when you're reading and it's so easy and quick to read) it never feels rushed and everything is fully fleshed out. The author has clearly studied the location where the story takes place and even writes a bunch in Japanese, so he really made an effort to immerse himself into the research and you feel it as you read the story, because it feels authentic. Even the fighting scenes, the martial arts and stuff, and how John felt conflicted being mixed race because of how he had been received. I really appreciated how Barry Eisler handled that. I can't wait to read more!